The name “Zimbabwe” stems from a Shona term for an ancient territory known as the Great Zimbabwe, whose ruins are now a protected site. This territory has been the hub of several organised states and kingdoms other than having represented a major route for migration and trade. The Mashona people began migrating into the area around 300 AD and started developing trade routes with the Phoenicians. In the early 19th century, the Matabele people conquered the Mashona and established a new empire, Matabeleland, that continued to extend until the British South Africa Company, led by Cecil Rhodes, demarcated the area and conquered Matabeleland after a fierce resistance known as First Matabele War. During this time, the Matebele and the Mashona had joined forces, yet unsuccessfully. In 1923, a white-only referendum merged the separate administrations of Mashonaland and Matabeleland into the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia, which lasted until the white minority had declared independence from Britain in 1965. This culminated in a 15-year long civil war between the white minority government and supporters of African independence that only ended in 1980 with a peace agreement that finally established universal enfranchisement and independence as Zimbabwe.